They Say the Future Exists for the Past
by Megumi-ko
Summary: Sakura had a tough time growing up. Her parents fought, she was bullied in her younger years, and she had a lot of heartbreak throughout her life. Now she's in college and living in her own apartment, single and content. But when Ino and Hinata drag her to a fair over the weekend, Sakura meets someone that might change everything... Rated M for later themes.


**They Say the Future Exists for the Past**

Every day of my life, I had wished to be someone else. I wanted to live a more exciting life, and do things that everyone else would be jealous of. I wanted to sing my heart out and be one of those famous idols. I wanted to dance the nights away just because I could. I wanted to have friends, be adored, and not worry about anything.

But life isn't a free ride. Nothing in life can be a free ride.

Growing up was the worst part of life. Throughout middle school my parents constantly fought, for who-knows-what kinds of reasons. I came home every night to hear their yelling and screaming, and every night it just seemed to get worse.

After middle school, I got sick of it, so I moved in with my Aunt who lived a few hours away. She was single, and always had been, with the exception of a few boyfriends along the way. She was only twenty-three when I moved in with her, so our close age difference made it easier to bond with her. I simply adored her; she was the mother I always wanted, but also the closest I had to a friend in that time.

My high school years were just dandy. I had a lot of friendships with their ups and downs and two boyfriends in that time. I also tried hard in school and graduated a semester early my senior year. It made me really happy to get out of that place, but mostly because of a certain boyfriend I had who backstabbed me big time.

Kiba was my first boyfriend and we started dating sophomore year, but we didn't last because he always smelled like wet dog. He also had an obsession with dogs that just got weirder over time.

Sasuke and I actually had a decent relationship. It was going really well for the longest time, and I actually thought we'd last through school, but I was wrong. Ino, my best friend, had warned me about Sasuke, saying not to trust him, but I still took my chances.

At first, he was really romantic and sweet. He always brought me gifts and acted like he'd give me the shirt off of his back anytime. And he did—but only in the beginning. Eventually, he got impatient and told me he wanted to start having a sexual relationship.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Sasuke said after classes were over, as he pulled me into a warm hug.

"Sure, what's up?" I said, gently kissing him on the cheek.

"You think we can manage having a sexual relationship? I mean, can we be sexual? Trust me, I'll still be romantic for you," he said, smiling and getting ready to pull me into a long kiss.

I pushed him off and looked into his dark, surprised eyes. "Wait, are you asking if I'll have sex with you?"

"Yeah, I just think that we're not getting enough action in, you know? All the other guys say that their girlfriends are great in bed, but I've never even seen you naked before," he remarked, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, all those other guys are just perverts and date the skanky whores of this school for a reason. I don't mean to insult your friends or whoever, but they obviously only want sex out of those girls. They don't care who she is as long as she'll do things with him," I replied, laughing and rolling my eyes.

He stayed silent for a few seconds and let go of our embrace. Then he laughed awkwardly, shrugged, and said, "Yeah, okay. Well, let's go home now."

The whole way to my house we didn't talk at all. The atmosphere had been kind of awkward after our talk and it became too hard to break the ice. But looking back on it, even if I had said something, I don't think it would've changed anything.

When he dropped me off, he smiled and said "I love you," but I should've known that something was wrong. Even his smile looked plastic at the time. I laughed it off in the end, but I should've taken the obvious hint from his silence that something was way off.

The next few weeks we didn't talk as much and he didn't bring me any more presents. Eventually he even stopped the small gestures of love he normally presented. I didn't think it was a big deal at first, but when he stopped speaking to me regularly after a month, I decided to confront him.

At first I called him and left him messages that he never returned the call to. Then I frequently texted him hoping that I'd get a reply, which unfortunately never came. I couldn't get a hold of him in school either, so I drove out to his house one day.

His house was in a really nice neighborhood full of rich snobs, and a long drive away, but I did it for love. In the end it wasn't worth it at all. I ended up walking in on him and this whore named Temari from our school. Crushed, hurt, and betrayed, I never spoke to him again. He didn't even bother to apologize; there was never a time when he even looked at me in recognition ever again, even when we just happened to cross paths.

After high school, I got over him with the help of Ino and Hinata, my two best friends. We all keep in contact, even though Hinata moved on to a really great college a few hours away. Ino and I both chose to go to the same nearby college that majors in the sciences.

And now I'm living in a nice apartment of my own, sadly single but not desperate. I wouldn't go as far as to say that. A girl has to stand up for herself, you know?

Having just woken up from a long nap, I stretched and yawned as I stood and took a glance at the clock. Before I could sleepily attempt to read the clock, my phone rang at full volume, scaring the shit out of me. I looked over and the caller ID said Ino.

"...Hello?" I asked in a sleepy stupor.

"Excuse me? I thought we agreed to meet at my place at five so that we could drive out to meet Hinata at the local fair. Did you just decide your beauty sleep was more important than our sweet little Hinata?" Ino said, impatiently.

"Oh my gosh! Shit, I totally forgot!" I said, rubbing my temples in frustration. "Okay, I'll be ready soon; do you think you could just pick me up along the way?"

"Yeah, yeah," Ino said, sighing. "You know, you really need to stop doing this. I realize you've been working the night shift at the pharmacy, so I'll give you leeway for today, but you seem to always forget about these things!"

Even though she sounded really frustrated and angry on the phone, I could tell she was smiling one of those, "Oh-Sakura-You-Predictable-Girl-You" kind of smiles. Ino and I had our moments in the past, mostly in our first year of high school, but we were always good friends. And even when Ino had a good reason for being angry with me, she got over it. I'm practically the only one she can't stay angry at, with the exception of Hinata.

"Thanks a bunch, Ino!" I said as I rubbed my eyes and opened my wardrobe. "Then see you in five or so?"

"Yeah, so hurry up. And buy a calendar or something, seriously!" she said, and hung up hastily.

* * *

The doorbell rang almost instantly after I started putting on my jeans, so I rushed to the door, pulling up my pants as I went. I opened the door and greeted Ino with, "Hey, sorry for the mess!"

Ino rolled her eyes and smiled, "Yeah, you should see my place. This looks just about the same as mine, so I'm not one to say it's messy here. In fact, I could call it home!" She said, letting herself in and plopping herself down on my comfortable La Z Boy couch. "Is this couch new? I like it."

"Thanks and yeah, it was a going-away gift from my aunt," I hollered as I rushed down the hallway to the bathroom.

"I thought you moved in like a year ago. Did you just not tell her?"

"No, uf course I toll hur," I said, mouth full of toothpaste. I spit and then said, "She just didn't get the right couch the first time she ordered it, and when she returned it and tried to order this one, it was on backorder. When she finally got it, she decided to just give it to me as a birthday present because it was so late."

Ino giggled. "That so sounds like her!"

I waltzed out of the bathroom and into the living room with Ino. I picked up my favorite brush on the table and began brushing my hair with ease. Even though my hair looks like a rat's nest first thing in the morning, it's always surprisingly easy to brush through. Which, I'm not complaining of course.

Ino watched me for a second and sighed. "I'm so jealous. You have the coolest natural hair color—it goes perfectly with your name, too! Both you and Hinata have beautiful hair colors, and I get stuck with being the blonde!" She shook her head when she mentioned her hair color.

I turned and walked over to the full body mirror in the corner of the room and looked at my reflection. My hair was mid-length, light pink, and my jade green eyes stood out like fireflies in the night sky when compared to my hair. I didn't particularly care for my looks; in fact I had been bullied for them in elementary and middle school. But Ino always talked about my features in envy even though she had always been the more attractive one. Or at least that's how I saw it.

"Well, my parents did name me Sakura for a reason," I said, gently setting my brush down on a nearby counter. "Also, it's not bad being blonde! Not that I would know, but you act like it makes you unattractive and yet you had all the guys in high school after you."

Ino shrugged. "Not like I actually wanted to date any of them. I just don't like having blonde hair because I totally look like, boring, when all three of us hang out."

I snorted and rolled my eyes, "Oh, yeah, you're worried about being _boring_."

Ino laughed from where she sat and said, "Pfft. Well, whatever. We should get going—Hinata's going to wonder where we are if we don't hurry."

Turning and heading towards the table where my purse sat, I glanced over at the clock and then at Ino. "Yeah, let me just go grab my phone real quick. I'll be quick."

After I returned, I grabbed my keys and soundly closed the door behind us as we left, remembering to lock it. "So, the fair is at Konoha square, right?" I asked.

Ino raised her eyebrows and looked at me with a huge smile. "Really? Just be happy _I'm_ driving."

We laughed in unison as we headed down the apartment complex stairs and to the parking lot.


End file.
